Uploaded April 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

---

A supersaturated solution contains more than the maximum amount of solute than is capable of being dissolved at the current temperature. I dissolved sodium acetate in hot water, then allowed it to cool. At this lower temperature, it’s an inherently unstable solution, so the only thing I needed to do to get a precipitation reaction to start was to add a few crystals of solid sodium acetate.

#chemistry #chemistryeducation #chemistrylab